Candi

ComicStripFan.Com

Candi, by Starline Hodge

This is a beautiful strip by a beautiful artist. Candi follows the adventures and antics of a girl named Candi (of course) as she goes through the trials and tribulations of college life. Struggling through classes, dealing with roommates, finding a part-time job to make ends meet, and juggling a love life in between it all. It's a semi-autobiographical strip that's beautifully written and drawn by Starline Hodge. She's very talented, and is one of the sweetest people you'll meet. Go and check out Candi; you'll be glad you did!

Curious how Candi got started? Check out a brief history of the strip here.

Wondering what Starline's creative process is like? Here it is, in her own words.

"-Well I do a lot of things. I guess first and foremost is that I doodle a lot. And I mean constantly. Blank pieces of paper get on my nerves. All my class notes, restaurant napkins, roommate's dry eraseboards, anything I have has a doodle on it. A lot of times I get ideas for strips or storylines from doing this. Also, its just good to constantly practice.

"-I collect pretty pictures. I like to draw people more than anything. So, whenever I see a good picture in a magazine, poster, postcard, etc. I grab it and put in my "I want to sketch this" folder. Every once in a while it comes in handy when I need a certain pose.

"-I also always have a script first when it comes to making Candi or any comic I do. It makes it easier for me to see where things are going and gives me a way to plan ahead and possibly change things before its set in stone online. :)

"-I use cheap materials. Regular old 8 1/2 by 11 computer printer paper for me. However I do like to use different size ink pens. I've recently bought these Faber-Castell artist pens are are pretty neat. I also like the Copic set from comictones.com. But what's really important to me with the pens in the tip size (I like .05, .03, and .01 the best) and that they are water proof.

"-When I draw a strip, I draw the boxes first, then I pencil in the drawings. After that I ink them with the pens and then scan it into Photoshop. Using the levels feature, I clean up the lines. Then, I put lines on their own layer (there are a tons of online tutorial that teach you how to do this) and then color underneath them on another layer. Then I add the text and speech bubbles and I'm done!

"-I also ask a lot of questions. If I don't know how to do something I don't hesitate to ask another webcomic artist what they would do or how they do something. It's the fastest way to learn a new thing! In addition to that I try to just observe how other webcomic artists plan out their stories, cliffhangers, shadows, anything really. I pretty much try to learn different techniques and styles as much as I can. It keeps things fun and motivating."

Take a look at some great examples of Starline's art below!

Candi limited edition print signed and numbered by Starline Hodge. This print is titled "Florida Winter", and is number 4 of 15. Beautiful color image of Candi.

Candi limited edition print signed and numbered by Starline Hodge. This print is titled "Offer You Can't Refuse", and is number 3 of 10. Beautiful color images of Laura and Linda.

An awesome specialty piece of Candi done for me and signed by Starline Hodge. A beautiful image of Candi ready to toss a water balloon. Note the "Aloha" printed on her shirt.

Sketch of Candi on front of package received from Starline. I couldn't bring myself to throwing the package away because of the sketch.

Another great sketch of Candi on back of the package received from Starline.

Go and taste of the sweetness of Candi by clicking on the link below!